Their decision, a man born and raised in Onslow County with decades of experience in law enforcement.
Donnie Worrell began his career with the Onslow County Sheriff s Office in 1989 and worked as a lead investigator until 2012. After a brief stint with Jacksonville PD, Worrell was brought back to the OCSO when Sheriff Hans Miller was elected in 2014. He officially retired in 2019 and has since enjoyed time with his family and traveling around the country.
He is now stepping back into a familiar realm, taking over as the new chairman of Crime Stoppers in Onslow. Altogether, Worrell has spent a total of 35 years in law enforcement and is excited to continue the work his predecessor has built.
He says he has only used the term twice throughout his entire life.
When describing the culmination of the moment during his final days as chairman of the Onslow/Jacksonville Crime Stoppers Program, Joe Yannessa comedically explained to a crowd of local law enforcement this is now the third time he has said something was bittersweet .
Twenty-one years after he joined the exploratory committee with Naval Criminal Investigative Service that would eventually become Crime Stoppers, Yannessa doesn t know a better way to say how he felt standing in front of the people he has worked closely with during that time. Vice-Chairman Bob Bright has given the program 19 years and beginning in 2021, the two will step down after building one of the most successful programs in the state.